He's in good company when we look at what Buddhist tantrikas did from early on. No. Buddhist Vajrayāna, and even Mahāyāna, use of nonbuddhist figures was done in the context of conquest, domination and apppropiration, not fitting them pleasantly into a Buddhist scheme. The same applies to Tibetan c...

And suppose a formally Christian, Jewish, or whatever person does study Buddhist philosophy and then has a spontaneous realization of emptiness in their direct experience. not possible. now ask why. Actually, though. There are many people whose adherence to Christian doctrine, for example, is reall...

The second amendment was originally instituted in order ensure the right of southern militias to fetch escaped slaves. i always thought it was a snub towards the British who outlawed civilians to have guns during the revolution. Nope. It was an amendment designed to appease slave owners. https://ww...

The second amendment was originally instituted in order ensure the right of southern militias to fetch escaped slaves. I dunno, Greg. I mean, it seems like countries with greater gun constraints also have more constraints on other things, too. Aussies have more constraints on both guns and on the in...

And thus begins the program of interpreting sūtras and tantras according to what one wishes they said Malcolm, when I have to choose whom I trust, either you or the realized Tibetan masters from whom I have received teachings on phowa and the bardo, I choose the realized Tibetan masters. Deal with ...

PS: not saying it has to be interpreted this way, I'm just saying those passages don't neccessarily have to be taken literally. And thus begins the program of interpreting sūtras and tantras according to what one wishes they said, instead of what they actually say and what authentic masters such as...

All that was stated was that it will take millions of human years to attain buddhahood once one is reborn there, if one is an ordinary person. I understood you very clearly. And that is what I refuse to believe... Then you refuse to believe what sūtras say on the subject, and in that case, there is...

Sorry guys, but all teachers from whom I have received Phowa and Bardo teachings agree that being led to a pure land is favourable to a human rebirth, including the passage by Thrangu Rinpoche I've quoted earlier: When we are about to be reborn and enter a new existence, it is best to close the doo...

Yes, after millions and millions of human years have gone by. Why would it take millions and millions of years? http://www.kagyulibrary.hk/uploads/scripture/file/58-en.pdf This aspiration prayer also has information. According to the translation one kalpa is one day there. It is quadrillions of kal...

Yes, after millions and millions of human years have gone by. Why would it take millions and millions of years? Have you any idea of how long a day in Sukhavati is in human years? One day in Sukhavati equals one kalpa of the Bhadrakalpa. In another simple explanation, there are four different lengt...

What about phowa? That's only going to a pure land, that is not being liberated. Yes, but the main reason you want to go to a pure land is not that it's some kind of spiritual Disneyland where you can enjoy yourself, it's because that's where you'll reach enlightenment. Yes, after millions and mill...

Even telling them to focus on an activity deity such as Jambhala is of no benefit, since these activity deities are not complete paths. Only bodhisattvas like Mañujuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, Tāra, and so on will function in this way for ordinary people who have no regular yidam practice. If they have “t...

So, to be clear, the party line is that every being who has ever been liberated has realized the Dzogchen view (which we could say = Prajñāpāramitā = Mahāmudrā, except in manner of presentation and practice; same result, except for the varieties of rainbow body)? And this regardless of the level of...

That is just not how things work in the bardo. Isn't one's experience of the bardo conditioned by culture and prior training or lack thereof? First, we have to distinguish between the common bardo (antarabhāva) teaching found in Abhidharma, and so on, with the bardo presentation found exclusively i...

??? Praying to enlightened beings to lead you to a pure land while you're in the bardo is one of the standard teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. See for instance this quote: Thrangu Rinpoche, The First Twelve Days of the Bardo p.21: same text, p.22: http://www.rinpoche.com/teachings/bardo.pdf Are you s...

What if the "other" to whom you pray liberates you not as a reward for your faith but through revealing to you that you were never really bound? That He is actually the basis of all you have ever experienced? That "you" are a temporary appearance manifesting in, as, and through Him? Hopefully "his"...

The idea that one can be saved by another is an externalist, eternalist, theistic view. It is not compatible with the Buddha's teachings. ??? Praying to enlightened beings to lead you to a pure land while you're in the bardo is one of the standard teachings in Tibetan Buddhism. See for instance thi...